April Fools’ Day Is This Week!

With the Internet and e-mail providing free, viral protection from online scammers, hackers, and cyber criminals, there’s no doubt that at some point you’ll receive an e-mail hoax. Some are harmless, but many can lead to virus infection, identity theft or worse. Here are some common themes to watch out for:

• Supposedly free giveaways in exchange for forwarding e-mails.
• Bogus virus alerts.
• False appeals to help sick children.
• Pointless petitions that lead nowhere and accomplish nothing.
• Dire, and completely fictional, warnings about products, companies, government policies or coming events.

Probably the most common indicator that an e-mail is a hoax is the “Send this e-mail to everyone in your address book” request. Hoax writers want their material to be spread as far and wide as possible, so almost every hoax e-mail will have this request built into the message. In some cases, e-mail hoaxes will even give you a specific number of people to send the message to in order to collect a prize or get something for free.

Another surefire indicator that an e-mail is a hoax is that they don’t provide a checkable reference to back up claims. Genuine competitions, promotions, giveaways or charity drives will almost always provide a link to a company website or publication. Real virus warnings should only come from your installed anti-virus software. E-mails containing governement or company policy information are likely to include references to checkable sources such as news articles, websites or other publications.

A third indicator is often the actual language used. E-mail hoax writers have a tendency to use an emotive, “over-the-top” style of writing with words and phrases such as “Urgent,” “Danger,” “Worse virus ever,” and so on. Another indication is that these messages contain ALL CAPITAL LETTERS for added emphasis. When in doubt, don’t forward the message or take the action requested.

URGENT: FORWARD THIS BLOG TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!  Happy April Fools’ Day!

3 Reasons To Have A Blog (Even If Nobody Reads It)

Building a massive following online is no easy task. But before you give up on your company blog due to the disappointing number of people who read and comment on it, here are 3 reasons to reconsider.

Search Engine Optimization. If for no other reason, blogging weekly about a particular topic will work wonders for your search engine optimization. Make sure you blog entries frequently include keywords that people are likely to use when searching for your service online, but avoid spamming the blog (overusing the words). There’s no scientific percentage here; just don’t repeat them so often that your writing seems unnatural to your readers.

Free PR. The media is constantly surfing the web for content and for experts who can provide content and commentary. All it takes is one reporter to find you online and you could get tons of free publicity. You can bolster your chances of getting mentioned by writing about current events in the world or local news. For example, if you sell insurance and a hurricane or other natural disaster hits your town, you should blog about useful tips for people submitting claims to their insurance agents or how to determine how much insurance you should have, etc.

Indirect Selling. Writing stories about projects you are working on, clients you’re serving or case studies is a great way to showcase your expertise and “indirectly” sell services. Of course, you can also use your blog for new product or service launches and get direct input from clients and prospects on new products and services they want to see.

Can Criminals Use Your GPS To Burglarize Your Home?

The Story: A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, and they knew when the game was scheduled to finish, so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It seems they even brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.

True Or False? While there are cases in which GPS devices have been used in crimes against their owners, this particular story is a “friend of a friend” e-mail legend according to www.snopes.com. That said, there is a valuable lesson here: Don’t leave valuables in the car! GPS devices, cell phones and laptops, are expensive electronic devices that are attractive to thieves. Plus, you should always make it a habit to lock your electronic devices using a strong password (one that contains upper and lowercase letters and numbers).

First Friday Funny